Social Media Survival Guide

The number one most vulnerable group on social media is young women, particularly teenage girls.
DMCA.com spends an extraordinary amount of time helping young women and their parents deal with consequences of cyber bullying and revenge posting. This online taunting is a terrible crime and violation. It is intense, constant and very dangerous. The emotional harm and ultimately physical consequences of this assault take a very heavy toll on parents and children alike. We, management and staff at DMCA.com would like to stop this online scourge. To this end we have added this social media survival guide as a service to everyone.
The tremendous rise in popularity of social media has corresponded with an equally tremendous rise in UGC (User Generated Content) sites. It is a fair statement to say that much of the content found of UGC sites comes from social media sites. Much of that content is "stolen content" or content published without permission of the owner or creator. The rise in the number of online dating sites has also followed a similar trend

Social Media Survival Tips for Children (Parents read here:)

delay the use of all social media for as long as possible - the bottom line is the best protection is abstinence. Maintain that for as long as you can.

do not be fooled by social media platforms that claim their content is only temporary. All content online can be copied and reposted elsewhere.

after introducing or allowing social media - set limits. Count the number of friends your child has in real life and set their online social media limit to that number. Sounds shocking but you have to start somewhere. Ask for justification to have more friends.

get connected with your child through social media, share, join in and get involved. Browse with them with their account. You must be along for the ride.
share the same communities, follow the same groups, people, organizations etc. You will (may) be surprised at the kind of content is shared. Much of it is intended for adults or older teens

follow the adults guide to social media use (see below)

check the photos and videos on your child's device. Go through what is appropriate and what is not. Delete everything that you do not want the entire school to see

avoid entirely the publication of solo selfies, solo (bathroom / bedroom) mirror selfies etc. They are too easy to photoshop inappropriately. Group shots are better. They are harder to photoshop to use later should someone want to take your child's photos and use them inappropriately

Survival guide for Adults

remember you are "on stage"

once your content is digital and you publish it on ANY social media platform, it can (and most likely will) go everywhere. Use social media with the understanding that everything you put online will go everywhere and be seen by everyone.

do not make yourself vulnerable to blackmail or coercion of any kind. Content uploaded online can be deemed "fair use" for everyone to see and share. There is no presumed privacy.

do not consider your privacy settings as a vault door - consider them a screen door at best.

Social media is serious business. It is de riguer for every company on the planet to have a social media presence. These companies then go on to pay people to conduct and manage their social media presence. Your child is most likely not one of these professionals. They are most likely not trained. Unlike the corporate professionals they most likely to do not "manage" their profiles and connections. They learn to use social media by trial and error. Some errors made on social media cannot be taken back. A personal, intimate, confidential photo even accidentally uploaded to a social media profile can harm the very public reputation of your child. It has been our experience that this very personal exposure can be devastating for the victim. It can change the lives of the both the child and the parent(s) alike. Take steps today to limit your child's exposure.
The idea that more is better is a commercial social media ambition. For purely economic reasons companies want as many "followers" and "friends" as possible. This ambition or goal to have as many "friends" as possible is not reasonable. While is certainly attainable to have 200, 500 or even 1000 friends, connections and followers the pressure that number creates would be substantial.
If your daughter (or son) has more than 100 friends ask them to unfriend as many as possible. Pay them to unfriend as many you can afford.
Pay your child $1.00 for every "unfriend" on facebook.Pay your daughter $2.00.

ABOUT DMCA.com

DMCA.com is the one stop shop for all your DMCA & internet copyright needs. DMCA.com provides its customers with a variety of tools to help detect and defend theft that has occurred and prevent it from occurring in the future. Learn more